The invention relates to an agitating and supplying device. More particularly, the invention relates to the agitating and supplying device, arranged in a powder developer cyclic path of a developing apparatus, for transferring a developer while agitating it and supplying it on the surface of a magnet sleeve roller and to a mold for molding such a device.
Conventionally, there has been proposed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,194, a developing apparatus in which an agitating and transferring device for transferring and agitating a developer is arranged. The apparatus has a plurality of buckets, fitted in confronting flanges parallel to a rotary shaft, for supplying a developer on the surface of a developing roller, and blades for transferring the developer in its axial direction, arranged at a given space in the inner bottom of each bucket.
In this agitating and transferring device, since each bucket and each blade are screwed therein, the assembly manday and the production cost of the device greatly increase. Further, since the both ends of each bucket of the device are only fitted in the flanges to support, in the rotation of the device, the phenomenon that the buckets bend outwardly by the centrifugal force acting on the buckets and contact the housing of the developing apparatus causes a noise problem.
Meanwhile, there has been proposed, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 61-14849, the technology which assembles molded-parts into a transferring and agitating device. This device has a plurality of blades for transferring a developing in its axial direction, fitted on a rotary shaft. The assembly manday of the device decreases as compared with the previous agitating and transferring device. However, this device has some problems. One of the problems is that, since the device can not be molded by one mold, the production cost thereof increases. The other problems is that, since the intensity of the device itself only depends on the rotary shaft, the higher intensity of the rotary shaft is required.